Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited

My Story

So you'd like to know more about me. My name Sam Vaknin. I was born in Israel in 1961. I'm an author of short stories, a winner of literary awards, and a columnist in Central Europe Review, eBookWeb.org, PopMatters, and United Press International (UPI). I am also the Editor of mental health categories in the Open Directory and Suite101.

I am not a mental health professional, though I was was certified in Counseling Techniques. I hold a Ph.D. from Pacific Western University and work as a financial consultant to leading businesses in Macedonia, Russia and the Czech Republic.

My book, Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited, is one of the first books to talk about Narcissistic Personality Disorder, which is just starting to gain recognition.

It was written under extreme conditions of duress. It was composed in jail as I was trying to understand what had hit me. My nine year marriage dissolved, my finances were in a shocking condition, my family estranged, my reputation ruined, my personal freedom severely curtailed.

I wrote the first draft of the book in prison, by night ...standing. Then I re-wrote my scrambled notes, uploaded them and, presto- there was a website. The book came much later when I realized the pent up pain and solitude that narcissism wreaks upon its sufferers and victims. It is a pernicious condition, the root of many mental health disorders, and very poorly understood, diagnosed, reported, and studied. It was recognized as a mental health category only in 1980 (DSM III).

Why did I go to prison in the first place? I crossed swords with the Israeli government. Mine was shorter. I was imprisoned for grand fraud after I exposed major corruption in a bank I bought through the stock exchange. But isn't this ("I'm not guilty!") what they all say?

Slowly, the realization that it was all my fault, that I was sick and needed help penetrated the decades old defenses that I erected around me. This book is the documentation of a road of self-discovery. It was a painful process, which led to nowhere. I am no different - and no healthier - today than I was when I wrote this book. My disorder is here to stay, the prognosis is poor and alarming.

My book says that narcissists are easily identifiable and that, once identified, can be easily manipulated. The need to manipulate them arises out of their propensity to destroy everything and everyone around them. To manipulate a narcissist is to survive. It is a survival tactic of the victims of narcissists.

You can get a quick overview of narcissism and Narcissistic Personality Disorder from reading these chats and interviews:

HealthyPlace CHAT with Sam Vaknin - Narcissism

HealthyPlace CHAT with Sam Vaknin - Abusive Relationships

HealthyPlace Radio Show Relationships with Abusive Narcissists

WebMD Chat with Sam Vaknin

Mental Health Today Chat

A Primer on Narcissism

Natterbox Interview with Sam Vaknin

Listen to an INTERVIEW with Sam Vaknin

New Narc City - Interview in the New York Press

Interviews and Articles in New York Times and UPI

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